News about agriculture in New York State and information farmers and consumers can use in their daily lives.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

New York Welcomes Its Newest Apples: SnapDragon and RubyFrost

SnapDragon apples. Photo from Cornell

News from Cornell University:

SnapDragon and RubyFrost are the names of the two new apples developed in New York state.

After
years of development and consumer testing as “NY1” and “NY2” Cornell
University and New York Apple Growers have given the hottest new apples
in the Empire State names worthy of their unique assets: SnapDragon and RubyFrost.

The names were revealed Thursday afternoon by Jeff Crist, vice chairman
of the New York Apple Growers board of directors, at the annual Fruit Field Days at the
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, where Cornell
breeder and Horticulture Professor Susan Brown
developed the varieties.

“SnapDragon is a great name for this apple because consumers found
its crispy texture and sweet flavor so appealing,” said Mark Russell, an
apple grower and New York Apple Growers member.

SnapDragon, formerly NY1, gets its juicy crispness from its
Honeycrisp parent, and it has a spicy-sweet flavor that was a big hit
with taste testers. Russell anticipates it will be a popular apple for
snacking, especially for children.

Brown said she recognized its promise and fast-tracked it for commercialization.

“I remember my very first bite of SnapDragon. The taste, the
crispness and the juiciness impressed us,” Brown said. “Retailers will
appreciate its other qualities as well, because although SnapDragon’s
harvest window starts relatively early – in late September
– its long storage and shelf life means retailers may be able to offer
it with consistent quality for a longer time than Honeycrisp.”

RubyFrost apples. Photo from Cornell.

RubyFrost, formerly NY2, which ripens later in the fall and stores
well, will provide a boost of vitamin C well into winter. Brown expects
it will be popular with fans of Empire and Granny Smith.

“I think juicy and refreshing when I eat a RubyFrost,” Russell said.
“It’s a fascinating apple, with a beautiful skin and a nice sugar-acid
balance, but to me the crisp juiciness is rewarding every time.”

The two varieties have been a decade in the making, and how they’ve
gone to market is a first for the Cornell apple-breeding program and the
New York apple industry. Historically, public universities developed
new apple breeds and released them to the industry
freely.

But in 1980, the Bayh-Dole Act gave universities the ability to
retain the intellectual property rights for their research, with
limited plant-based royalties.

In
addition to SnapDragon and RubyFrost, Cornell has released 66 apple
varieties since the late 1890s, including the popular
Cortland, Macoun, Empire and Jonagold. Brown herself has brought
consumers the highly popular Fortune and Autumncrisp varieties, as well
as 10 sweet and one tart cherry varieties.